


Kind Man's Chest

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: Body Image, Crack, Gen, M/M, rin is thirsty for his friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 02:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4418372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin will do whatever it takes to find out how to obtain Makoto's so-called 'perfect chest.' </p>
<p>He isn't quite sure where his definition of 'obtaining' lies, however.</p>
<p>Originally titled 'rin wants the p(ecs).'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kind Man's Chest

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by both the throwaway line at the end of Eternal Summer Ep. 2 about Makoto winning the muscle contest (that we totally should've gotten btw) and Rei's comment in one of the drama tracks about Makoto popping his shirt open because it was too small with Rin getting jealous.
> 
> Just a warning: this fic deals with a lot of talk of body image throughout.

As his eyes survey the competition before him, Rin knows that he will win this contest with no problem. He has a critical eye for this sort of thing, the proper way one should treat their body so their physique is worthy of being sculpted out of marble, of sketching the top tier of the male muscular physique.

Among the lot of men who range from barely-there muscle to “most of that is definitely not natural” in a too tiny speedo, no one is even close to matching years of an athlete’s training and a well-maintained diet that constitutes, in Rin’s vocabulary, his hot bod.

When he’s sure no one’s looking in his direction, he sticks his tongue out at Gou, currently sitting behind the judges’ table. She instantly perks up from her pout at the poor array of musculature when she notices Rin, waving frantically to complement the large grin on her face.

It’s so cute and it makes Rin so happy that he’ll let it slide that his younger sister is inspecting a bunch of half-naked men - though he’s pretty sure they both agree that none of the candidates are worth more than three seconds of their time.

Rin can easily list a few people right off the bat who could cream his competition, like the recently-returned-and-buff-what-the-hell-it’s-only-been-four-years Sousuke, or the university-departed-already-Nationals-recruited-fuck-you Seijuurou, or -

“Wait, Haru, stooooooooooop!”

Rin turns to see Haru pushing a wailing Makoto towards the group of contestants. In front, Nagisa has both of his wrists in his grasp as he drags his victim, while Rei gently pats Makoto’s back.

“Go Mako-chan, go!!”

“I don’t want to!”

“I signed you up already. You can’t quit, especially since you only have five minutes until the competition starts.”

“Haruka-senpai has a point, Makoto-senpai. That would be disrespectful.”

“I just don’t understand _why_ I have to do this.”

“Have you seen your body Mako-chan? It’s totally the best of all of us.”

“What’s that supposed to mean Nagisa-kun? I curate my diet to make sure I get the recommended amount of nutrients everyday, as well as -”

“Okay but have you seen Mako-chan?”

A pause, followed by a very objective, “Fair point.”

Well, Rin wasn’t going to consider Makoto, but then again, Makoto wouldn’t even consider himself. Dolt.

Not like he’s ever observed Makoto’s body though.

Rin moves over to the side and claps his hand on Makoto’s back. He’s here to win, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that Makoto is more than uncomfortable with the situation before him.

“So look who’s joined the competition.”

Nagisa jumps onto Rin, who immediately cringes and makes a shove at the tiny blond of mayhem to try and get him off. He really needs to accept defeat at this point; like every other time prior, Nagisa remains holding tightly onto his waist like he’s stuck to him like spandex.

And it’s cute, really. Though he refuses to admit that. Ever. Out loud. Or mentally. God damn it.

Rin manages to hold back his tickle-induced giggle as Nagisa’s cheek nuzzles its way into his bare skin. “Mako-chan and Rin-chan are gonna compete against each other!!” Nagisa (regretfully - no, thankfully - wait, fuck) pulls himself off, keeping one arm around Rin’s waist, the other pulled in front of his mouth as if he’s holding an invisible microphone, dropping his voice to one suited from broadcast television. “Who will be the victor among two friends? Will it tear them apart? Will the loss devour the one whose body doesn’t meet the ideal standards of beau-”

“Nagisa-kun! Let go of my brother and get away from the stage! You’re too tiny to compete anyway!”

Nagisa whips his body around to challenge the newcomer, extending his arm and pointing right to the middle of the judges’ table. “Wait a year and we’ll see if you’ll regret your words Gou-chan!”

“I better - I’m determined to help all the entire Iwatobi swim team have the most stunning muscles in at least a 50 kilometer radius.”

“Gou!” Rin barks.

Gou laughs, knowing full well that her brother’s bite has not a single trace of malice. “Of course, except for onii-chan.”

Nagisa manages to sneak one last quick hug to both Rin and Makoto, though it’s not like the latter can see with his hands covering his face, as if the mere action will render him invisible.

When they’re called to line up and are free of clinging Nagisas, Rin gently tugs Makoto in the right direction with his own hands over his wrists, thumbs circling around Makoto’s hyperactive pulse points in an effort to calm him down. “It’s fine, I’ll be right here the entire time. It’s not like I’m going to be knocked out for at least until the final round.”

Even with Makoto’s hands covering his face, Rin knows that his shoulders relaxing means he’s doing something right when he reassures him that, “No worries, okay?”

Then he smiles, lips pulling back to show off his razor-sharp teeth. 

“But we all know that when the judges see me, your face won’t be the only thing that’s on fire.”

Through the cracks in Makoto’s fingers, Rin notices his eyes that are no longer shut tight in shame, but open, with a stare directed right towards him. It’s one that gleams with intensity, one reserved for those who don’t know Makoto, assume he’s just a gentle boy, ignorant of a side that can absolutely crush.

It’s a look reserved for all things video game, swim meets, and an underrated ferocity that will never cease to amaze Rin.

It is _on_.

~

Gou is brutal; for such a lover of muscle, she’s a harsh critic. Between her and the other two judges, it doesn’t take long until the competition is stripped down to the best of the best, through a series of trials including magazine-worthy poses (not like Rin has ever practiced those, except no more than a handful of times. maybe a bit more) and too-close inspections (it took everything within in Rin not to kick the guy next to him who looked a little too happy that Gou was touching him, but she seemed to have it covered by not-so-subtly smacking her hand particularly too hard against his shoulder with a sinister smile when she finished).

Truth be told, Rin is quite surprised that it ends up coming down to him versus Makoto. He’s not surprised that he’d be in the last round, of course not, he knows his body is banging. But Makoto, Makoto is most definitely still a surprise to him.

It’s not like Rin hasn’t noticed Makoto’s body before or anything - after all, their choice sport requires them to be shirtless so it’s right _there_ \- but he’s never really taken the time to actually _look_. It’s not like he doesn’t take Makoto seriously or anything, because Makoto possesses the skill worth noticing. But Rin’s tendency to notice male bodies is often reserved for those he wants to achieve for himself or those he’d like to have on himself, sometimes both (first learned by a 13-year-old him, discovering that maybe his staring at his assistant coach wasn’t just for envy over his physique, but for reasons that sent his heart pounding and trying to tell Winnie to leave him alone in his room and that he’ll play catch later as soon as he’s done).

As the second runner-up is dismissed, Rin’s smile is nothing but smug as he hipchecks Makoto lightly, draping an arm around his friend’s shoulder and dropping his chin on the same spot. “Way to go, Tachibana. Didn’t know you had it in you.”

Makoto - still red, even after twenty minutes of competition - forces a smile that somehow manages to look so genuinely and purely Makoto and replies, “Thanks, Rin. I’m glad if I had to compete with anyone, it was with you.”

Rin tries his hardest not to go red himself at that comment. “I’m...stop trying to distract me, I’m here to win.”

“Whatever you say, Rin.” Makoto laughs.

~

“I… _LOST_?”

“Rin-senpai!” He hears Ai off on the sidelines, but Sousuke grabs the younger boy’s arm just in time before he enters the warpath. 

Next to him, Makoto looks down at his trophy - a glass statue of a male figure - as if he doesn’t deserve it. And he doesn’t, because what the fuck, Rin _lost_?

But Rin’s also trying to learn that even if he loses, if it’s with his friends, it isn’t that bad, and besides, each failure can become a learning opportunity. Right. Yeah. And this is Makoto who is someone who’s he’s fine losing to, and this is a meaningless, completely shallow competition that’s honestly just a matter of subjective aesthetics...

But no competition is meaningless and Rin _lost_.

“I’m sorry, Rin, honestly, I agree with Gou, your body is much better.” 

Rin can’t even think of where to begin to respond to that comment: a smack to Makoto’s head for apologizing for winning, agreement that he should have won, a blush that Makoto just lowkey flirted with him? Honestly, Rin can’t seem to respond at all, instead, retorting to gaping like a dehydrating fish confused over the fact that it lost a muscle contest, as fish frequently participate in.

Sousuke walks up to Rin, uses a finger to push his unhinged jaw back into its rightful place, and leads him back to the Samezuka corner. “It was a close competition, but it was Makoto’s pectorals that cinched his win.”

“WHAT?”

As if he didn’t just shatter Rin’s perception of muscle perfection and boost his curiosity about a particular section of Makoto’s body, Sousuke shushes him with a, “We’re going to miss the train if you keep whining, Rin.”

~

It’s not like it’s been niggling at the back of his mind for the past few months. Honestly, he’s just tucked away that incident in the file cabinet located at the back of his mind. Simply nothing, really, just random memories like how Momo slipped that one time after practice and accidentally collided into Sousuke’s chest, or how Haru’s face scrunched up after trying Vegemite for the first time when jetlagged and desperate for something to eat at a nearby convenience store from their shit hotel.

But when Makoto confesses that one of his most embarrassing moments is when his shirt buttons popped open during his and Rei’s deliveries to get more money for the swim club, Rin _fumes_ , memories of the muscle competition from several months prior rearing their ugly heads.

All of this is done internally, of course. 

Haru comments that Makoto’s been building up good muscle, and you know what, what the fuck does Haru know, just because his natural talent has him excel in the water doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a bonafide studied expert on what makes something good or not.

Externally, Rin chooses to grumble about that he’s totally _not_ jealous and pushes said obvious envy to the back of his mind while they go back to their game. Right. Now Haru’s talking about how much all of them mean to him and now Rin’s ready to cry. His emotions are being a particularly nasty group of sons of bitches tonight.

Later that night, Rin squirms in his sleeping bag over the fact that Makoto’s body is apparently the pinnacle of perfection. He’s won a contest against Rin in determining who has the better muscles, and now he has objective proof after popping the buttons off his fucking shirt.

Rin needs to know how Makoto’s achieved this.

“Hey...Makoto.” Rin shimmies out of his sleeping bag and tries to lean over Haru’s body in between him and Makoto. He doesn’t necessarily have to conduct a Q&A since, granted, it’s late at night, but maybe a simple answer or two, or even just a look at Makoto’s body would be enough to satisfy his curiosity for the time being. “Ma-ko-tooooo.”

“Stop poking me, Rin.”

“Shut up Haru, I’m not even talking to you.”

“We’re not even in the same bed this time - are you that cold? I was fine with letting you cuddle with me when we shared the bed in Australia.”

“ _Youpromisedmeyouwouldn’tbringthatup ohmygodwhyareyouevenreferringtoitascuddling._ ”

Haru responds, perfectly understanding the spew of words Rin was able to muster out in five seconds. “I don’t know why you’re ashamed, Makoto does the same when he stays over. Both of you need to start sleeping with more blankets.”

“Can you guys please stop whispering? It’s not helping this whole ‘let’s sleep in the dark!’ thing that Nagisa came up with.” 

Rin and Haru - the former on top of the other in an attempt to slide over to Makoto - turn to see said boy grumbling into his pillow, voice slow and laced with sleep, as if the farther he drives his face into it, the more he’ll be able to hide the fact of just where exactly he’s sleeping.

“You...didn’t hear any of that, right?”

Makoto mumbles into his pillow, a mixture of desperation to return to sleep and confirmation that he’s almost there. “Blankets...need…you talk really fast Rin...”

Haru pulls the edge of Makoto’s sleeping bag so it covers his body up to his shoulders. He brushes away a loose strand away from Makoto’s face, who nuzzles into Haru’s touch, his soft, slow breathing indicating he’s gone back to sleep.

Gross.

Haru turns back to Rin, that same quiet smile still there, brushes one of Rin’s own loose strands of hair away from where it’s getting into his eye. 

Goddamnit Haru.

He then quickly pouts and pokes him in the chest. “You. Sleep too. Go bother Makoto about his pecs later.”

“How do you even -”

“You haven’t stopped staring since Makoto told his story.”

“But I-”

“Goodnight Rin.”

~

Two days later finds Rin curious, bored in his Japanese Literature class, and determined to learn how to achieve the perfect chest.

 **Matsuoka R.:** what’s your diet like

**Tachibana M.:** it’s nowhere near as good as yours, i’m sure! i usually just eat whatever my mom packs for me

**Tachibana M.:** oh and mackerel with haru

**Tachibana M.:** you know how much i love chocolate too (*^▽^*)

**Tachibana M.:** wait what’s up? do you need me to drop off anything??? i know you tend to be pretty strict about your diet but i can grab the train tonight and bring you something

**Matsuoka R.:** no

**Matsuoka R.:** wait so you’re telling me you don’t follow a strict regimen

**Tachibana M.:** gou tried once! remember when we told you all about the protein powder

**Matsuoka R.:** yes, and how nagisa needs to WAIT THAT’S NOT THE POINT

**Matsuoka R.:** YOU DON’T REGULATE YOUR DIET??

**Tachibana M.:** ...should i??? (-’๏_๏’-)

**Matsuoka R.:** wait sorry fuck didn’t mean to freak you out

**Matsuoka R.:** i was just wondering if 

**Matsuoka R.:** nagisa hasn’t completely turned you guys off of protein powder

**Tachibana M.:** nagisa has turned me off of most things strawberry, but no, usually i don’t have include protein powder in my meals in general

**Matsuoka R.:** good to know

**Matsuoka R.:** okay that’s all

**Matsuoka R.:** go back to paying attention in class

**Matsuoka R.:** i know you’re only answering me now because you’re in english

**Tachibana M:** and i know that you only use your phone in class when you don’t want to pay attention in lit smh

**Tachibana M.:** it’s really interesting, you just have to find the right story!

**Tachibana M.:** if you want i can share you some of my favorite classic love stories

**Matsuoka R.:** …

**Matsuoka R.:** give them next time you guys come over to samezuka

**Tachibana M.:** okay!!

Two exclamation marks are absolutely not cute, and this is something Rin repeats as he hides his smile behind the heel of his palm.

Next to him, Sousuke smirks.

~

The little pockets of time that Rin has that aren’t zeroed in on supervising his team and racing against Haru and Rei during their swim practice are devoted to creeping on Makoto, a shirtless Makoto, an ideal situation if one wanted to look at his muscles.

Not creeping. Creeping has a negative connotation. Observing, Closely. Honestly. If it was creeping, he’d be paying more attention to the way the water slowly trickles down Makoto’s pecs instead of said pecs itself, how each drop glows when the light strikes against tan skin... 

Right. Anyway, the pecs.

“Are your eyes okay Rin-senpai?” Ai walks over with Rei in tow, disrupting one of his not-creeping sessions. Rin’s not sure whether he wants to yell at them for disrupting his very rational staring contest with his friend’s chest or immediately start defending himself for getting caught in the act.

Neither seem to be necessary though, because next to Ai, Rei adjusts his goggles and nods. “I can recommend my optometrist to you. Unless that’s why you’re looking at Makoto-senpai. Do you want me to ask who he sees?”

“Wait. You.” Rin doesn’t know why he didn’t think of this sooner. Rei is both a lover of aesthetics and precision, a perfect balance of subjectivity and objectivity, and if he agrees that Makoto’s chest is the best, then he must know exactly why that is the case and should be able to explain it in terms that Rin can mimic for his own chest.

“Me. Yes.” Rei raises his eyebrows.

“You agree that Makoto has a banging chest, right?”

Rei reddens at no doubt what is Rin’s wording, but nods anyway. “Makoto-senpai’s pectorals do show evidence of proper uptake and routine at the gym, and are quite…” Rei nervously coughs, “nice to look at...objectively of course.”

“So what’s wrong with mine then?” Rin snaps back.

Rin has to hand it to both Rei and Ai - for those who would have formerly been the most likely to recoil at such a loud and sudden retort from Rin, the underclassmen both roll their eyes and look at each other before looking back at Rin. Excuse you Rei and Ai, Rin has every right to be dramatic about wanting his chest to be perfect.

Rei goes first, “Objectively, you make a conscious effort to keep it in pinnacle condition.”

“But?”

“Even so, you’re still lacking in certain vitamins and nutrients; after all, each body type is different. Makoto-senpai overall has a larger frame, and because he’s an athlete with a strong focus on his torso, er...popping buttons off of his shirt isn’t totally implausible.” Rei turns red for a few moments, no doubt recalling a memory of said incident that only he and Makoto share. Knowing him, Makoto’s button probably flew off and ricocheted off of Rei’s glasses or something. 

Rei coughs once before continuing, “Do you want me to send you more of those cookies?”

“Yes, of course, but you should totally make them in shark shapes this time -”

“Rei-san, can I have some too? In duck shapes?”

Rei, the asshole, drops Rin’s very important problem and focuses on Ai, pushing his glasses up and smiling wide, “Well we’d have to talk first about your diet, so I can make sure your dietary needs are sufficient!” 

“AI-SENPAI! GUESS WHAT NAGISACCHI JUST TAUGHT M-” Momo’s words are cut off as his slide across the floor is too halted by the crash into the equipment near the locker room, accompanied by a flash of blond rushing over, yelling, “You weren’t supposed to go that quickly Momo-chan!”

Ai sighs, “I should go help Momo-kun.”

Rei nods, “I’ll help; I apologize for Momo going through on an idea of Nagisa-kun’s.”

Rin watches aghast as his own problem is mercifully abandoned as Rei and Ai turn their attention to something that’s nearly not as important. How dare they.

Of course, he goes to join them because he’s not a dick (anymore) who doesn’t care about his injured teammate and friends, but makes sure to ask as he catches up, “Wait? Does this mean I can have more cookies?”

~

While Makoto works on the English exercise in his workbook in front of him a few days later, Rin furiously taps on his closed math textbook in front of him with his pen. He intensely stares at the way his white uniform shirt, crinkled from a full day’s wear, stretches as he leans down and _damn_ it Makoto. He sympathizes with the guy in his body shyness, but if he has it, he should flaunt it.

Also so Rin can take extensive notes about why his pecs are apparently so goddamn perfect.

Which he verbalizes in the most subtle way, “Take off your shirt.”

Makoto doesn’t give a very coherent answer, instead choosing to drop his pencil, his jaw, his head, and therefore his glasses as they slide off his nose and join his pencil on the workbook.

“ _What_?”

Okay, maybe that was a bit forward, shit, now Makoto’s turning red, and Rin needs to explain.

“No, not like that! I’m not trying to recreate a shit AV or something, oh god, ew, even if I was, I’d come up with a much less cliche situation.”

“What are you talking about then?”

“I’ll take off my shirt too!” 

“You’re sure you’re not trying to recreate an AV.”

Wait, Makoto knows about porn? Well, he is a teenage boy, but Makoto? Watching porn. No, wait, not the point. “C’mon, god damnit Makoto, I just want to see your pecs.” 

“You see them whenever we swim!”

“Okay, but like, a close study.” Rin reaches for the bottom of Makoto’s shirt, startling the latter and accidentally pushing the both of them on Rin’s bunk. “Can I touch them? I just want to know how you get them so perfect, like, they even meet Rei’s standards of beauty for fuck’s sake. He’s supposed to choose _me_ , damn it!”

“Is there something you want me to tell Rei for you…?”

“What? No, I’m focusing on you.” Rin fixes his position on Makoto’s lap, takes off his own Samezuka polo to make his friend feel more comfortable, then gets to furiously unbuttoning Makoto’s shirt from the top-down.

He stops only one button in when Makoto’s hand curls around his bare shoulder, his fingers just barely shaking against Rin’s paler skin.

“Look, to make this less awkward, let me.”

Rin awkwardly shifts his hips at the boldness in Makoto’s voice, the way he lets his hand slip down Rin’s chest so he can use both to unbutton himself. No way Makoto can affect him like this. No fucking way.

Rin makes sure of avoiding what could be an even more awkward situation by bringing his mind back to his main goal, telling himself that he’ll _finally_ get to analyze how Makoto’s chest works.

Makoto makes it through two more buttons before there’s a creak of the door and a dull, but concerned welcome.

“Uh. Hi.”

Rin and Makoto turn around and see Sousuke standing in the open door frame, eyebrow raised and jaw dropped open, as if he’s never seen two friends in a compromising position for the sake of athletic muscle maintenance.

“Is this why Haru didn’t come today? I thought he just didn’t care about exams. You know what. I don’t want to know. Or care. Just use protecti - okay bye.”

Makoto and Rin immediately separate, amongst hasty thinly-veiled comments like, “Not _that_ important,” and “I completely forgot to study chapter 14!”

~

Rin, despite thriving off of the company of his friends and team and the cheers of audiences who watch him swim, rather enjoys his solitude, especially when it allows him to work on things he considers important, like planning his week, or comparing Samezuka’s swim times to last years, or spending copious amounts of time leafing through the free subscription of a swimming equipment catalog he receives as captain, not only to explore what items he can buy for the team, but to gawk at the glossy men in the pages modeling them.

Today, he’s drawing up an ideal schedule for his division of his little free time come arriving in Australia. He wants to factor in sightseeing, the shopping, and Skype time with everyone back in Japan. It’s something that requires the utmost concentration, a time where his focus is only reserved for his laptop screen and his notebook -

“RIN-SENPAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!”

Momo barges into the room that Rin is very sure he kept lock, and he wonders if Momo has acquired any lockpicking skills until his eyes travel up to see a laughing Sousuke holding the door wide open from the hallway. What the hell Sousuke; he must have ended his lunch date (“Not a date, get your mind out of a romantic gutter that’s exclusive only to you”) with Momo early and decided that, why not, the dessert could be pissing the ever loving fuck out of his best friend, his roommate, his comrade when he knows that he wanted some time to himself.

Rin grabs the miniature shark plushie sitting on his desk (a birthday gift from Nagisa, Rei, and Gou) and attempts to chuck it at Sousuke, but he just misses when his best friend maneuvers out of the way and gloats, “Momo has a question for you,” and shuts the door. Damn it, now he’s stuck with Momo and is missing his new favorite toy. 

Okay, it could be worse. Rin actually has a very soft spot for Momo, right next to the one he has reserved for Nagisa, because they both remind him so much of himself once upon a time, that their very presence brings that side out of him, one he can’t help but admit to missing from time to time.

And then Momo, sitting on Sousuke’s chair with its back pressed to his chest, opens his mouth. 

“If you were a girl, what bra size would you wear?”

“ _WHAT?_ ” Rin claws his hand around Momo’s head and tightens his hold, “If this is some gross way to find out what Gou’s is…”

“No, no, of course not!!” Momo cries, furiously shaking his head that seems to be more in a way to emphasize his denial of Rin’s accusation and less trying to get out of his captain’s grip. “I was just curious, honestly!!”

Rin refuses Momo an answer and promptly kicks him out of his room, telling him to go back to his room and ask Ai about his bra size instead. Momo doesn’t seem too pleased with this answer, petulantly grumbling about how Ai doesn’t even have good cleavage.

Seriously, Rin does not get Momo’s obsession with his chest. He loves the kid, but it’s kinda weird.

He turns back to desk and instead of going back to his now botched Australia planning, he pulls out his phone.

He opens a new message to Makoto, no Nagisa, NO Haru, absolutely not...no, Rei, and starts to type, “What do you think Makoto’s bra size was if he were a girl…”

Then Rin realizes that he’s doing what Mikoshiba fucking Momo was doing and immediately tosses his phone back onto his desk.

~

**Matsuoka R.:** Makoto, fun question - if you were a girl what size bra wou-

Rin stuffs his phone under his pillow and slams his head on top as an extra security measure to not send his friend one of the stupidest questions ever and can easily be misconstrued as an attempt for a booty call at 12:30AM.

Great, now he’s wondering if Makoto would be good at sexting now. Probably not. 

“Are you calling Tachibana for a booty call? I’m not crashing at Momo and Ai’s.”

“Go the fuck to sleep.” Rin kicks the bed above him.

~

Rin feels pressure on his chair as Sousuke hovers over him and looks at the open tab on the the internet browser. “Wasn’t that your background photo on your phone? Why are you pulling it up on Facebook?”

The photo in question was taken the previous year: an updated one of a group of preteen boys fresh off their first win as a relay group, only this time, five years older, reunited, and with the addition of a new, but equally important bespeckled friend. Rin frantically tries to minimize the window to reveal his laptop desktop photo of his new Samezuka perfect relay, a selfie taken after nationals, but Sousuke has already seen what Rin was up to so he decides to come up with a lie instead.

“I was uh. Reminiscing.”

“No you’re not. You’d be crying if you were.”

“Hey!” Rin turns to smack Sousuke, but his stupid best friend has managed to escape with a laugh and lands on Rin’s bed, cross-legged on the comforter like its his own fucking half of the bunk.

“Okay, fine. You were reminiscing. Zoomed in on Makoto’s chest.”

Shit. “You know what, it’s not my fault he has a chest that beats me in contests and pop open shirts.”

“That’s happened to me too you know”

“And I also hate you too for it. Don’t think you’re exempt just because you’re my best friend.”

“Have you actually considered, you know, asking him?”

Rin rolls his eyes, “Ridiculous, Sousuke, that’s way too obvious and would put him in a flustered, uncomfortable situation.”

“Right, and straddling him shirtless on your bed isn’t.”

“Of course it’s not.” Rin very much ignores the heat on his cheeks as he returns to his task.

Silence, and then Sousuke quips, “So does that mean you’re going to straddle me shirtless in an attempt to find out why my chest pops open buttons?”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Rin cheeks back, chucking his shark plushie towards Sousuke with a smirk as he spins around in his chair, only to groan when Sousuke perfectly catches it with his good arm.

~

Now that it’s getting much cooler as the fall season begins to transition in, Makoto and Rin’s kitten meetups have relocated from the courtyard to the nearby shed where the latter houses all his rescued strays.

The current meetup includes a resting Makoto on his backpack propped against the concrete wall of the shed, laughing as the black kitten as she wriggles her way out of his hands and gently lands on his chest, no doubt extremely ticklish.

Rin swears he’s watching the spectacle because a kitten that just barely fits in Makoto’s cupped hands trotting her merry way across the expanse of his chest is adorable, not because said chest is all that’s been occupying his mind lately.

“So, have you figured if you’re gonna spruce up your wardrobe for Tokyo?” Rin turns his gaze away and focuses on the dark orange tabby in front of him. Once on the fine line between life and death when he discovered him last year, shaking cold during a rougher-than-average storm and fur clinging to bone, he’s been nursed back to a healthy weight. Once snappy but so easily broken-hearted about his condition, he’s now energetic and vicarious, sometimes to the point that it reminds Rin of Momo too eerily. 

Rin’s developed a rather soft spot for that tabby.

Makoto shakes his head, “I’ve been really busy with exams and I started part-time coaching again. And then there’s babysitting Ren and Ran, figuring out the direction of the club after Haru and I graduate - though Gou, Nagisa, and Rei seem to be managing that - I’m also figuring out if I should get a part-time job in Tok-”

“Let’s go shopping sometime soon, yeah?” Rin waves his hand, as if to ward off the additional weights that will become too heavy and break Makoto’s back with a flick of his (very strong, mind you) wrist. “And we can bring Rei, you know, with his eye for beautiful clothes and what not. And you guys can totally look at new eyewear too. You know, look like a sexy collegiate and all that.”

“That’d be fun.” Makoto laughs. “I’d love to see what your definition of a sexy collegiate includes.”

The conversation falls to a comfortable silence, filled instead by soft breaths and content purrs. It’s nothing really unusual; Rin and Makoto have a pattern of animated conversations shifting to a warm quiet, maintaining an easy balance that Rin wouldn’t trade for the world, particularly amongst all the dramatics that come with all of his other relationships.

Then, Rin gets an idea, bringing the pattern back to the conversational. “Hey, do have any workout clothes on you?”

“Huh?” Makoto looks up from his phone. Rin notices that the screen contains a photo of the black kitten reaching out so his paw is taking up the majority of the frame. It’s fucking adorable. “No, why?”

“Work out with me.”

Makoto then lifts his eyebrows. “Now? I don’t mind, but I’d have to borrow yours if that’s okay.”

A mental image develops in Rin’s mind of his own tanktops clinging to Makoto like a second skin, especially his shorts, oh my god the shorts. And his tanktops, which will no doubt show off Makoto’s chest definition in such a way that will probably cause at least three concussions in the gym from passerbys.

He swallows.

“Borrow Sousuke’s.”

~

Sousuke’s approval via a quick message exchange includes:

 **Matsuoka R.:** can makoto borrow some workout clothes

**Yamazaki S.:** so long as you guys don’t do anything weird with them and toss them in the laundry after then idc

**Matsuoka R.:** wtf we’re just working out

**Yamazaki S.:** just don’t get any weird stains on them

**Matsuoka R.:** but he’s going to sweat

**Yamazaki S.:** yk what i mean

**Yamazaki S.:** ok my pt appt’s about to start 

**Yamazaki S.:** later

**Matsuoka R.:** NO I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN

**Matsuoka R.:** SOUSUKE

With a huff at the lack of response, Rin shoves his phone in his duffel and looks up to meet Makoto. Rin’s somewhat satisfied about the fact that Sousuke’s tanktop doesn’t seem to be stretching across Makoto’s chest, ignoring the completely logical fact that Sousuke is larger and his clothes tend to run looser and it would happen to him, but gloats instead in the fact that even Makoto’s supposedly godlike chest can’t fit larger shirt sizes. 

But then again, Rin’s not here to focus on Makoto in a teal tanktop. Even if it how it falls and reveals his chest in such a sensual way that stirs him more than if it was completely bare.

Rin’s finally starting to get Momo’s obsession with the male cleavage.

Wait no, what the fuck. The things that he and Momo have in common are limited to are their interest in sport, their commanding ways, and zealous-but-a-little-too-over-the-top-at-times personalities.

“Rin?”

“Huh?” 

Makoto pouts, eyes drooping, and Rin gets a sinking feeling mixed with frustration, a sensation reserved for a too-nice boy about to apologize for something he didn’t do. “Is there something on my face?”

“Oh...no, no, wait, let’s just start.” Rin shakes his head, hating himself for a brief moment for the lapse in concentration, and drags Makoto over to the weights. The silence this time is uncomfortable, Rin staring at Makoto with impatience, hands on his waist, as his friend’s eyes bounce back and forth between the dumbbells and, well, him. 

“Uh…” Makoto stammers, looking at Rin like a child ordered to confess to eating dessert before dinner, or Momo when Rin tries to quiz him for his English test and busts him for not studying in the first place.

“So are you going to start or what.”

“Um...I was waiting for you to start…”

“What? Why?”

“Isn’t that why you wanted to work out? Usually you offer because we’re doing something wrong and since we’re captains, you were going to give me advice I could give to the others.”

Rin blinks. “Oh, no, no, that’s, no. Not today. I just want to watch you.”

“Huh?” Makoto walks backwards, flinching and nose scrunching and forehead crinkling in the most petulant way when he knocks into the kettleball stand behind him. Rin rushes over to rub Makoto’s back, guiding him back, red and hastily explaining, “Not in a weird way, just. I’m interested in your routine.”

“Oh, okay! You could’ve just said that before, you know.” Makoto smiles, just as an extra reminder that no, don’t worry Rin, you didn’t do anything wrong.

“Yeah, well apparently I’ve lost the ability to speak like a functional human being.” Rin murmurs.

Unfortunately, Makoto has supersonic-hearing, something he blames partly on having a best friend like Haru, quiet to the point where they’re damn telepathic instead, and partly because Makoto will do anything to take care of others, which includes a sensitive radar that picks up even the quietest of thoughts and most minute of facial changes. So, as if the conversation was meant to be continued, he responds, “It’s okay! It’s a rough time what with graduation coming up, we’re all bound to slip up every now and then, even you Rin!”

Rin grumbles in response and Makoto picks up one of the kettleballs, a little bit lighter than Rin was expecting, but sure, whatever, if this contributes to Makoto’s amazing body, then so be it.

Adjusting his body so he’s mirrored in front of Rin, Makoto puts on his captain-face, one that Rin’s so used to seeing between joint practices, meets, and babysitting their ragtag group of friend-children.

“Alright, so I just start off with a few, less strenuous sets to warm up -”

“RIN-SENPAI!!!”

Makoto screams from the sudden scare, and the next thing Rin processes is the _utterly and totally fucking horrific pain_ coming from his rapidly swelling foot.

And there’s something about the way that Makoto hurriedly carries Rin back to the locker room in order to quell the angry throbbing agony emitting from a 10kg kettleball that should carry out his secret shoujo daydreams, but all he can do is scowl instead. Sure, the way Makoto rubs his leg and wraps his foot up helps with the visible injury, but it does nothing to his severely bruised ego. 

Sousuke laughs that night when he comes back and sees the ice on Rin’s elevated foot, points to the new brace on his shoulder when he shrugs off his button-up with a darkly humored, “Did they run out of room in the nurse's wing?’

~

The next time Rin invites Makoto to work out with him, he’s ready with his workout journal and a pen, flipped to a blank page save for the title: GET MAKOTO’S PECS scrawled on the top margin.

(Sousuke noticed Rin writing this down in their room, opened his mouth to comment, but wasn’t able to get anything out due to Rin’s not at all defensive, “NOT LIKE THAT”)

Fortunately, this time there are no eccentric Momos, or even inquisitive Ais, no mysterious Minamis or Uozumis making strange noises together behind one of the machines to serve as a distraction.

Unfortunately, Makoto and Rin made the plans in advance, so the former’s workout wardrobe is a pair of sweatpants and a baggy, thinning-from-wear, grey t-shirt.

Damn it, Makoto. Rin makes a mental note to add ‘more flattering workout gear’ to his shopping list for Makoto’s ‘sexy collegiate’ look, one which will most definitely have a subsection for the many hours he’ll be putting in once he joins his university’s swim team.

Makoto gives a nervous laugh when Rin tells him this upfront, walking towards the workbench and adjusting the weights on either side of the bar.

Rin narrows his eyes at the sudden change in topic but follows anyway, thinking that maybe Makoto’s so used to his more conservative wear that branching out is a little intimidating.

It’s okay though, Rin’s well-familiar with more than a little intimidating, and he’ll help Makoto face that road when they get there, even if it’s something as small as a wardrobe upgrade.

The current moment awaits however, and the focus is not on Makoto’s clothes, but what’s underneath that Rin must absolutely obtain.

He first inspects the disks on the bar, jotting down the total amount of weight before leaning down to stare at Makoto’s grip and how he’s angled his forearms. “Wait, okay, let me see how exactly you’re positioning your arms.” 

“Okay…” Makoto clearly is trying his best to keep his expression neutral, but how rude Makoto, Rin can see that narrowing of eyes and slight turn of his head. Makoto may be opaque in some regards when it comes to his emotions, but he’s damn transparent when he’s judgmental. 

But Rin’s well learnt that he shouldn’t give a shit about judging - whether it be through people or stupid as fuck muscle contests - so he sits on the bench, straddling Makoto as he tightens his grip on the bar a little more. Once his hands have locked into placed, Makoto lifts his head and raises his eyebrows. “This is necessary?”

“Yes, I need to know at what exact position you’re in, and this is a good focal point.”

“You sitting on...you know, isn’t really helping.”

“Shut up, you should feel honored. Okay, so how many sets are you going to be doing?”

“Oh my god.”

There’s a _clang_ , a terrible sound resulting from skull to metal, and this time, it’s Rin who finds himself taking care of Makoto. He blows on the new bump on his forehead and finds himself trying not to rush to the warehouse and bring back a bunch of kittens to drop on his friend when he sees how his eyes and nose are scrunched and his mouth turned into the saddest of pouts, rubbing his temple with the heel of his hand.

The baritone that speaks next is a sharp contrast the lighter, hesitant squeak of the first speaker. “Rin, what the hell.” 

This is followed by a very enthusiastic request, one that asks if, “Rin-senpai, can I do that with you next?!”

Sousuke, Ai, and Momo create a crescent of various judging looks, from Momo’s curiosity to Ai’s surprise, but mostly Sousuke’s expression that could be summed up in no better way than ‘are you serious right now.’

So is it vocally addressed in him saying, “C’mon Momo,” puting his arm around the younger boy’s shoulder and turning them in the other direction, Ai quickly on their heels, “let’s go work on fixing your quads on the machines while Rin and Makoto finish with...whatever.”

“But I want to work out with Rin-senpai tooooooo.” Momo’s voice fades into the distance as the trio walks to the completely other side of the gym.

Rin immediately hops off the workbench and rubs the back of his hair with one hand. Funny, for not doing any training, his palm is disgustingly sweaty. “We’re done with today’s session, aren’t we?”

“Yup.” Makoto sits up and crosses his arms, not meeting Rin’s eyes in the slightest.

“Cool.”

~

Rin groans and slams his pillow “What the fuck.”

There’s a ruffle in the bed above him as Sousuke groans into his pillow. “What’s causing drama in your life now?”

“Makoto.” Rin grumbles, deciding that it’s 1am, fuck it, he’ll take Sousuke’s bait.

“Wait, what?” Sousuke shifts some more. “Tachibana causes drama? This isn’t a Haruka thing?”

“No, of course, he’s a fucking saint, but his body…”

“You’re lusting after Tachibana.” Sousuke says each syllable slowly, like he’s fallen down the rabbit hole and his entire world has been tossed upside down and a good forty-three degrees to the left.

Which he isn’t, of course not, Rin and _Makoto_? Silly Sousuke.

Rin tells him this, except he phrases it as, “No, oh my god no, what? I just don’t understand how he has -”

“An all out perfect body?” Rin softly laughs at Sousuke’s attempt at English. “I heard you complaining about it when you were going at the punching bag earlier today at the gym. And the day before that. And the -”

“Okay, yes, I get the point Sousuke. But no, it wasn’t a dream like _that_ , oh god.”

He decides to leave out the fact that his dream included Makoto shirtless, tan, and very nicely oiled, and Rin was slowly, too fucking slowly, reaching out to touch it.

No wait, he meant nightmare. Totally a nightmare. Yeah.

He waits until he hears Sousuke’s soft snores before dealing with that problem in his pants. A dream featuring Makoto’s perfect chest most definitely strayed into lustful territory, but Sousuke doesn’t need to know that.

~

“Rin-senpai!!!!!”

Rin grunts as he finishes his set as Momo storms in, glares

“Why are you doing so many exercises for your chest?”

Rin doesn’t even realize the nonchalant honesty when he responds, “Because Makoto’s is better than mine and I need to match his level.” Maybe it has something to do with the naivety of Momo’s question, but Rin nearly drops his dumbbells as he finishes another set; letting Momo get the truth out so easily really surprises him.

Thankfully, he doesn’t suffer from another injured foot from a dropped weight, making sure to gently place them on the ground before turning back to his underclassman.

Rin also isn’t quite expecting Momo’s reaction, resulting in an extremely guarded pose that’s more suited towards self-defense when confronted with strange noises when walking alone at night.

Despite this, he’s met with a very emotional Momo clinging onto him, face burying in whatever chest it can reach and arms clinging to his shoulder as his giant mouth screams, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”

Mikoshibas and their dramatics, Rin swears.

Nonetheless, Rin does his best to calm down the boy, petting his hair with one hand and awkwardly hovering the other over his back, gently pressing Momo’s shirt into his skin in a sad attempt at comfort. “Okay, relax, remind me why this is a bad thing?

“There’s nothing wrong with Rin-senpai’s chest!! It’s perfect, actually!” Momo demonstrates his approval of Rin’s pecs by burying his face in it, and Rin can’t really do anything but sigh, rolling his eyes and continuing to pet Momo’s hair.

Rin then looks in the full-length mirror hanging on the door, evaluating what he can see of his chest despite a good percentage of it shielded by a wailing Mikoshiba.

He has to admit, Momo has great taste. Rin isn’t Makoto, doesn’t have his build and his body is set to stay on the slimmer side, particularly with a less broad chest, one that creates a less harsher triangle when placed in a ratio to his waist.

And it’s not a bad thing; it’s not fair for either of them to compare, really. Rin’s learned this with how he compares himself to Haru in terms of swimming, with how he used to compare himself to the changing bodies of the boys in his middle school with thirteen years of Australia in their bones and muscles. Makoto’s body is made for backstrokes, to break future records and collect awards as he continues competitively swimming, just like Rin’s build is made for adaptability for each stroke, making sure to have no heavy reliance on one when it comes to his form.

And damn, Rin knows that his body is fucking awesome, outstanding biceps and lats that look incredible in a tighter shirt, amazing quads and rock-solid abs that could break a fist upon contact. He has the perfect ‘v’ and his body fat is a nonexistent percentage.

“Yo, Momo.” Rin looks down at the fluff of orange and neon.

“Yeah?” Momo looks up, pouting, resting his chen on one of Rin’s pecs.

Rin smiles and ruffles his hair, “Thanks.”

~

When Rin greets Makoto at Samezuka’s front gate, leaning against the brick, he does so with a quick nod, a “Sup?” and bobs his shoulder to signal Makoto to follow him towards the dorms. He notices Makoto turn his head towards the diminishing warehouse and responds with, “We’ll get to the cats eventually.”

Makoto gives a hum to signal he’s okay with this, and upon entering Rin and Sousuke’s room, takes a seat on Rin’s desk chair when its owner sits on his bed.

Makoto starts the conversation with a very profound, “Um.”

“I wanted to apologize.” Rin’s voice is curt, to the point, the result of needing to get something out as soon as he can, if only to stop it from the continuous repetition of rehearsal again and again in his head.

“Apologize?” Makoto cocks his head, “For what? I’m sure you did noth-”

“I was jealous, okay? So I’m sorry.”

Makoto shakes his head. “Wait, you’re jealous. Of me.”

“Do you know how hard it is to get this and maintain this body? What’s your secret? And I did a lot of stupid shit that may have went out of line -”

Makoto apparently doesn’t process this, repeating, “You’re jealous of me.”

“Yes, fine, we’ve covered that, I know it’s weird because we have totally different, albeit awesome, body types -”

“Why would you be jealous of me? I know why I am - could be - jealous of you -”

Now it’s Rin’s turn to interject, leaning forward and asking, “What?”

“Oh,” Makoto’s smile goes plastic, cheap and comes with a brush of his hand to physically wave away what seems to be a conversation that goes even beyond perfection of muscle definition. “It’s nothing! Honestly.”

Rin squints. He’ll talk to Makoto about that later. But right now, other priorities.

Makoto hesitantly swivels back and forth in the desk chair, wrings the bottom of his shirt between his fingers and continues in the most deceptively innocent way, “Does that mean you don’t want to observe my chest anymore?”

Rin’s eyes widen.

Even though he’s now accepted that Makoto and Rin’s body types are different and they both have fucking amazing pecs, it’s still totally okay for Rin to still evaluate Makoto’s, right?

Just. Simply for aesthetic purposes now.

“I mean, yeah, sure, it’s always good to see what areas I were to focus more on, I guess, if I wanted to do more backstroke or something, why not.”

So cool, Matsuoka, you totally handled that with the utmost grace. Even the most ethereal of humans would be jealous (so eat shit, Haru).

There’s something about the way that Makoto strips upon getting approval, how he curls his fingers into the back of his collar and pulls up the cotton of his burgundy t-shirt over his shoulders as he lifts himself off the chair. The lines that make up his body, the curve in his back, his triceps, the way his chest moves up and down with each slow, quiet breath.

Rin slowly approaches Makoto, can only stare once he’s a few centimeters away. He lifts one hand to barely touch the skin over Makoto’s heart, can already feel the solid muscle from even the slightest contact. Makoto’s one pec is well larger than the width of Rin’s palm, the length from the tip of his middle finger to the edge of his wrist. From this close, Makoto’s skin emits a bronze, the result not of cheap spray tans, but from hard labor under the sun, whether it be from exposed skin accidentally revealed from a shirt bursting open from a rebellious button during heavy lifting, or many hours put into swimming practice in an outdoor pool.

But not one to show weakness, Rin looks up and smirks, “So...since your muscles tend to be objectively close to perfection, does that include your ass too?”

“ _Rin!_ ” Makoto blushes.

“What!” Rin waves his hand, “It’s a fair question, y’know, glutes and all. And while your chest may be allegedly better than mine, I bet that not only that I can squat more than you, but my ass looks way better in a pair of skinny jeans.”

“Have you been looking at my ass then, Rin?” Makoto walks up to Rin, following him with a mischievous smile that completely counters the pink on his face from just a few seconds earlier. Rin doesn’t even realize he’s hit the front door until well after the thud of his back against the mirror, too busy processing the shadow over Makoto’s looming figure.

Makoto’s close. Really close. And his hand is on Rin’s waist and tightening, and the space between them gets warmer, and holy shit, Makoto has freckles dusted on the bridge of his nose and pinpricks of beauty marks dotted sporadically on his chest. Rin rests his hand once more on one of Makoto’s pecs, curling his fingers, looking up and biting his lip.

And then Rin collides with him, but nowhere close in the way he was expecting. The door behind him opens with such a sudden force that Rin lands smack dab in the middle of Makoto’s chest as both teens fall to the ground.

Well, at least Rin’s finally got the contact with Makoto’s chest that he’s been waiting for.

Sousuke’s voice above them surprisingly lacks the awkwardness that Rin’s used to in these situations, instead is laced with exhaustion, as if he’s well used to this by now, “You guys really need to learn the definition of ‘privacy.’ I’m asking Haruka to buy you guys protection next time because that’s not my job.”

**Author's Note:**

> GOD I was supposed to publish this months ago for the massive amounts of February makorin birthdays, along with another fic that sits in wip purgatory.
> 
> It's about half a year later, but I hope it's worth it anyway :)


End file.
